Help With League Rules

This is my third season coaching 7 & 8 year olds under little league rules. We use a pitching machine set on 40 mph from 46ft from the plate. We play with 60 foot base patchs. We use the machine the entire season. We also have district tournaments at the end of the season that also use a pitching machine. I like using the pitching machine because the kids learn to stay in the box and hit the ball as opposed to standing up there and worrying about being hit by the ball. Also, it allows the coaches to focus on more fundamental parts of the game with other positions as opposed to worrying about trying to teach a kid how to pitch. Let's face it 7 & 8 years olds is just an extension of T-Ball. I feel like if I can send a kid up to minor with the ability to field fly balls, grounders, throw to the proper base, and track a ball in from the pitchers mound and hit it I've done a pretty good job. Let the minors focus on developing the pitching position, and having the kid know learn to hit a ball thrown from a human. One more note: We allow coaches three pitches in between innings to adjust the pitching machine. Even though it is a machine, the only guarantee you get is that the ball will come down the middle each time. As the balls get roughted up some pitches will come in high and some pitches will come in low. The kids still have learn how to track the ball.